Thoughts on the British Museum

I can describe the British Museum in one word: Overwhelming!  There is so much to see there that I could spend a whole year in that place and not have seen all there is to see.  Luckily, like most museums here in London, it is free to get into the British Museum, so I can visit it as many times as I would like during my stay.  It is also conveniently located just a block away from my flat, which is amazing!  The building takes up multiple city blocks and is even more massive on the inside than it looks from the outside.  It holds approximately 8 million artifacts and has over five million visitors per year.  

They are dedicated to human history and culture and have artifacts from all the continents.  I found it very interesting that a museum in London held artifacts that seem so much more important to other parts of the world.  There are actually many items within the collection of the British Museum that are controversially disputed by the home nation of the artifacts.  A great example of this are the Elgin Marbles, which are hand carved Greek marble sculptures that once stood on the Parthenon and other buildings in Athens.  These were removed from Greece between 1801 and 1812 and brought to England by Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin.  There was much controversy at the time about this and many criticized Bruce as a looter.  However, Parliament exonerated Bruce of any wrongdoing and eventually the British government purchased the sculptures from him.  There is still much debate about whether the marbles should be returned to Greece or remain in the museum.  Some countries with items in dispute have received monetary compensation from the museum.  Some items that have been or are currently being disputed include: 

• Benin Bronzes - claimed by Nigeria, 30 pieces sold already by The British Museum privately in the 1960s
• Ethiopian Tabots - claimed by Ethiopia
• 4 stolen drawings (Nazi plunder) - Compensation paid to Uri Peled in the amount of £175,000 by the British Museum
• Achaemenid empire gold and silver artefacts from the Oxus Treasure - claimed by Tajikistan
• Aboriginal human remains - returned to Tasmania by the British Museum
• Rosetta Stone - claimed by Egypt
• Some 24,000+ scrolls, manuscripts, paintings, scriptures, and relics from the Mogao Caves, including the Diamond Sutra - claimed by the People's Republic of China

When the British Empire was at it's peak there was a saying that "the sun never sets on the British Empire." You can see the relics of this vast empire throughout the British Museum.  My question is, should these items really be held in this monument to imperialism or returned to their rightful homes and cultures?  

Football Brings Us Together

Today I took a visit to Emirates Stadium.  I was so excited to see a real EPL (English Premier League) stadium.  It was an amazing experience.  You can hear more about it and about how football (soccer for Americans) brings Londoners and other worldwide fans together as a community by selecting play below.

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Music attribution: John Dowland, Pavana D Minor, 1563

Park Perspectives

Today we took a stroll through Regent's Park.  It is like no park I have ever seen before.  According to the Royal Parks website Regent's Park covers 197 hectares (487 acres) of land!  This is not even the largest park in London (Richmond Park is the largest at 2,360 acres).  There are several gardens, sports fields, walking trails, and open fields to explore. I have seen the people here take advantage of the green spaces to the fullest.  In Florida we have spectacular weather, for the most part, but I haven't seen parks used as much as I have here, in London.  Every green space available I see people sitting and reading, relaxing, having lunch, exercising, or holding a class outdoors.  Even in the church yard there are people enjoying the day.  There was also the wide diversity of ages a ethnicity of people enjoying the park that really pleasantly surprised me.  Maybe it's because I live is a much smaller city, but I am amazed at the upkeep and high usage of the parks.  I think that if I felt as comfortable in my area parks as I did here I would use them much more.  I did not get accosted by homeless people like I usually do at the park back home, the scenery was breathtaking, and I never felt uneasy walking through the park.  It's amazing how different the experiences can be in a city that appreciates the beauty of nature and the outdoors.  I thoroughly enjoyed my day at Regent's park and I hope to experience it again during my stay.  I will leave you with some of the awesome scenery at the park.

Exploring the World's Knowledge : A day at the British Library.

Today we went to the British Library, which is very comparable to our Library of Congress.  Their collection holdings are over 52 million items and they also host rotating exhibits all year round.  We were all very excited to get our reader passes to do some research.  They are very strict about who they allow to have reader passes and they conduct an interview with you about your research before they will issue you a pass. I successfully passed my interview and received my card! :)

The library was so much larger than I expected it to be.  Although it was so large, I was slightly disappointed.  I enjoy the feeling of being surrounded by books as well as the smell of them.  The collection of the library is mainly held underground and in small rooms by their collection.  I felt a disconnect to the materials and it did not feel like I was standing in a sanctum of information like I have felt walking into other libraries.  While this  feeling was dampening I still enjoyed my time there and checked out their exhibits.  There are no photos allowed in the library but I was able to sneak one of their card catalogs (shhhh!). 

I would also like to share some photos with you of the outside of the library and of the King's Library, which is the private royal collection that is housed there.  Enjoy!

Step by Step

St. Paul's Cathedral has an iconic dome that stands over 365 feet in the air.  Today I took on the challenge to climb to the Golden Gallery which offers 360 degrees of panoramic views of London.  There are a total of 528 steps to reach the top.

The group that decided to go to the top with me was great and we really enjoyed the cool air after the long climb up.  We nearly forgot that we had a long way down, but were quickly reminded when we began the journey back to the ground floor.  The way down almost seemed longer than going up, but it could have just been that we were sweaty and exhausted by then.  

It was an amazing experience and I am so glad I decided to take it.  Because it was such a long day I will leave you with some photos of the cathedral.

Finding Flora

As I was readying to board my flight to London I made a terrible realization that I had forgotten my dear friend, Owlbert.  I spoke with my sister and she has informed me that Owlbert is very disappointed that he was left behind and could not travel with me on this journey, but he has forgiven my misstep.  Although I am grateful to have been forgiven I still had to find a new traveling companion.  I scoured the surrounding area of our flat for one to no avail.  After a great pub dinner at Marlborough Arms, my roommates and I took a slightly different way home and by chance stepped into a store called Paperchase.  This is where I found my new friend.  A floral rabbit that reminded me of my favorite childhood stuffed animal, a rabbit with a faded floral patterned dress that was almost identical.  After bringing my new companion home I enlisted the help of my niece, Sophia, to help me name her.  Sophia is two years old and she is wonderful at naming her friends, she helped me name Owlbert, so I knew she was the right person to go to. So without further ado, I would like you all to meet Flora!

Flora was very excited to meet her new flatmates as well.  Here we have Humphrey (Melissa's whale), Flora, Pitbull and Jessica, Albert (Katie's duck), and Pigwidgeon (Hilary's owl). 

This motley crew of characters have become fast friends like the rest of us and are ready to see the wonderful city of London with us.  Although Owlbert will unfortunately be missing the fun, Flora will most certainly tell him all about it, and they can both join me on my future travel adventures.  

Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind. ~ Seneca

So I have made it to London!  I am exhausted and excited all at once.  I managed to get sick just before my departure and so I had to acquire some unanticipated travel amenities: orange juice, some daytime cold medicine, and some cough drops.

After trying and failing to be selective about what to pack I have brought most of my closet with me.  This became problematic a couple of times.  First, when I got onto the train from Gatwick to St. Pancras International Station my suitcase took up the whole aisle and I received some not so nice stares from some passengers that needed to get past me. Then, upon arriving at the FSU London Study Center I had to carry my gigantic and heavy bag up three flights of steps to my flat.

I was the first to arrive and promptly unpacked my things and then and took a shower in the world's smallest bathroom.  In a failed attempt to stay awake I promptly passed out on my bed.

When I awoke, about an hour later, I met my wonderful roommates, Katie, Melissa, and Hilary (Jessica had a bit of a delay, but she has also made it safe and sound).  We went down for our orientation where we met the rest of our classmates and then took a short walking tour afterwards.  After a trip to Sainsbury's, we are stocked up on groceries for the next few days and have finally been able to settle down and relax a little. We have had some dinner and are watching some British television, they have some weird commercials over here.

As much as I would like to continue to relax I must now go on a quest to find a new traveling companion as I have inadvertently left poor Owlbert behind :(.  I cannot wait to continue to explore this amazing city and share more of my shenanigans with you all!